Costabile is scheduled to plead guilty Tuesday in Franklin County Municipal Court to two misdemeanor counts of knowingly filing false statements relating to two projects, city Law Director Leonard Carr said.

"Jail time is certainly possible," said Carr.

Each charge is punishable by up to six months in jail plus fines.

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Costabile, who will resign as of Feb. 1, has already agreed to pay a $15,000 fine to the ethics commission and $6,000 to the prosecutor's office for the cost of prosecution, said Carr.

Why Franklin County?

"His lawyer asked to resolve it down there. They're trying to avoid the media," Carr said.

Costabile did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. His attorney, James Monroe Kersey, was reportedly in court Friday and unavailable for comment.

Costabile had been under investigation for violating the financial disclosure law.

A financial disclosure statement is an annual report filed by public officials and employees. The filer reports sources of income, investments, real estate holdings and other financial interests, according to the Ohio Ethics Commission.

Several council members signed a letter and sent it to the Ethics Commission in 2010 after Constabile received $100,000 from Seagull Development Corp. and $15,000 from another company, according to the law director.

Costabile and his neighbors received payments for being part of a 20-acre aggregation allowing the company to drill a well, Carr said, but council learned the mayor received more than his neighbors.

The Ethics Commission turned the investigation over to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, which spent more than a year requesting documents.

Costabile previously told The Plain Dealer the investigation did not play a role in his decision to resign. He released a statement that he wanted to spend more time with his family and continue to work on his law practice.